Actuator for aerosol can valve

ABSTRACT

An actuator for an aerosol can valve is adapted to dispense the contents of the can when the valve is moved laterally. The actuator is generally T-shaped and includes an elongated aligning portion having a pair of spaced-apart generally parallel flat sides and a pair of ends and an attaching portion extending transversely from the aligning portion intermediate the ends thereof. A central bore extends through the attaching and aligning portions and terminates in an elongated spraying slot in the aligning portion which extends parallel to the flat sides of the aligning portion. The central bore is adapted to receive the laterally movable stem of an aerosol can valve, and the attaching portion terminates in a pair of converging beveled surfaces which extend in directions which are generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the spraying slot.

United States Patent 1191 Smrt June 18, 1974 ACTUATOR FOR AEROSOL CAN VALVE 3,318,492 5/1967 Haas 222/402.11 1791 191919911 Thomas R1 1, BOX 499, 312331313 11113;? Bliflff.if?i.jijjj 11337 53333332 Bartlett, 60103 3,618,827 11/1971 Melocchi 222140221 x 3,650,438 3/1972 Ste henson et a1 ZZZ/402.22 [22] Flled Oct- 1971 3,653,554 4/1972 Tur hen 239/305 X [21] Appl. No.2 193,433

Related US. Application Data f EXam",'er A1len Knowles [63] Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 152,903, June 14, Assistant Exammer Norman Stack 1971, abandoned, which is a continuation-in-part of Ser. N6. 118,351, Feb. 24, 1971, Pat. N0. 3,700,144. ABSTRACT An actuator for an aerosol can valve is adapted to dis- U-S- pense the ontents of the can when the valve is moved lnt. late ally The actuator is generally T shaped and inof Search eludes an elongated portion having a pair of 239/579, 1 306, 70, 1 274; spaced-apart generally parallel fiat sides and a pair of ZZZ/402211 402-23, 131, 402-24, ends and an attaching portion extending transversely 70, 76, 401.1, 401.2, 575; 251/354, 349 from the aligning portion intermediate the ends thereof. A central bore extends through the attaching 1 References Cited and aligning portions and terminates in an elongated UNITED STATES PATENTS spraying slot in the aligning portion which extends 1,007,325 10/1911 Bohme 239/597 Parallel to the flat Sides of the aligning Portion The 2,662,669 12/1953 Schmidt.... 222/40221 central bore is adapted to receive the laterally 3,007,613 11/1961 Tygard 222/40222 X able stem of an aerosol can valve, and the attaching 3,018,056 1/1962 Montgomery. 239/70 portion terminates in a pair of converging beveled sur- 3,023,427 3/1962 Behringer 239/274 X faces extend in actions which are generally 3,028,054 4/1962 Beard, .Ir. ZZZ/402.21 X parallel m longitudinal axis of h Spraying slot. 3,165,238 l/1965 Wiley 222/70 3,270,925 9/1966 Obst 251/354 X 5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 1 ACTUATOR FOR AEROSOL CAN VALVE RELATED APPLICATIONS BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY This invention relates to an actuator for an aerosol can valve, and more particularly, to an actuator with means for aligning the stem of the valve and the slot of the spraying orifice of the actuator for spraying in the desired direction.

Aerosol spray cans are commonly used for a variety of purposes such as painting, marking, and the like. When a spray can is to be used to mark a surface, as when painting a stripe on pavement, it is often desirable to use a spray nozzle having a slotted orifice which will provide a relatively wide spray. However, unless the slotted orifice is aligned substantially transversely to the direction in which the can is being moved during the marking operation, the aerosol can will not be used with maximum effectiveness.

Aerosol cans are available which have valves which include a stem extending generally axially from the can, and the valve may be opened by moving the stern laterally. However, the stems of these valves are frequently not accurately aligned with the axis of the can, and the stem will therefore direct the contents of the can at an angle relative to the can axis.

The invention provides an actuator for an aerosol can valve which has a slotted spray orifice and a pair of flat aligning surfaces which extend parallel to the slotted orifice. The actuator is designed to be used with an actuating bar for opening the valve which moves generallytransversely to the axis of the can, and as the bar engages one of the flat surfaces of the actuator, the actuator will rotate on the valve to align the slot with the actuating bar. The slot is therefore automatically properly aligned each time the valve is opened and is maintained in the proper alignment while the contents of the can are being sprayed. The actuator is provided with a central bore which is adapted to be inserted over the stem of a can valve, and the valve-engaging end of the actuator, is advantageously spaced slightly above the flat surface of the valve base. The plane of each beveled surface extends generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slot, and as the actuator and the valve stem are moved by the actuating bar one of the beveled surfaces engages the top of the valve base. As the beveled surface comes into full engagement with the top of the valve base, the valve stem is aligned in a plane extending through the axis of the can and perpendicularly to the slot.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING can, partially broken away, which is equipped with a valve actuator formed in accordance with the invention; I

FIG. 2 is a side view of the aerosol can and actuator of FIG. 1, the aerosol can being partially broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of a marking apparatus holding a pair of actuator-equipped aerosol cans;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 showing the actuating mechanism of the marking apparatus moved to align the can valves just prior to opening the valves;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the actuator taken along the line 66 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 7 is a side elevational view of the actuator; and

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line 88 of FIG. 3.

DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT Referring now to FIGS. 1-3, the numeral 10 designates generally an actuator or spray nozzle for an aerosol can 11. The aerosol can is conventional and includes a cylindrical container or body 12, a generally dome-like top 13 which provides a central opening 14, and a valve 15 which is recessed within the dome-like top and mounted on the top wall 16 of the container.

The can valve 15 is of the type which includes an axially extending stem 17 (FIG. 8) which is provided with a central bore through which the contents of the can may be expelled and which extends outwardly from a cup-shaped valve base 18. The valve can be opened to release the contents of the can through the stem by pivoting the stem laterally, i.e., away from the axis of the can, the stem being pivotable about a point within the valve base as is well known in theart. The aerosol can does not include a dip tube so that the aerosol propellant expels the contents of the can when the can is held in a generally inverted position as shown in FIG. 1. The cup-shaped valve base includes a generally cylindrical side wall 19 and a generally flat top or end wall 20 which extends generally perpendicularly to the axis of the can.

The actuator 10 is generally T-shaped and includes a generally cylindrical attaching portion 22 and an elongated aligning or end portion 23. The aligning portion includes a pair of spaced-apart parallel flat side surfaces 24 and 25, a bottom surface 26, a top surface 27 and a pair of rounded ends 28 and 29. The cylindrical valve-attaching portion 22 extends from the bottom surface 26 of the aligning portion intermediate the rounded ends thereof, and a central bore 30 extends axially through the valve-attaching portion and the aligning portion. The central bore 30 includes a major portion 31 having a diameter sized to receive the stem 17 of the can valve relatively snugly. The major portion 31 of the bore merges with a radially reduced portion 32 approximately midway through the aligning portion 23 of the actuator, and the bore 32 merges with an elongated slot-like spray orifice 33 adjacent the top surface of the actuator. Referring to FIG. 6, the slot 33 is defined by a pair of straight side walls 34 and 35 which extend parallel to the flat side surfaces 24 and 25 and a pair of arcuate end walls 36 and 37 which have the same radius as the wall of the reduced portion 32 of the bore. The slotted orifice therefore has a long dimension equal to the diameter of the reduced portion 32 of the bore and a much narrower short dimension or width. An annular embossment 38 surrounds the orifice and projects axially outwardly from the top surface of the actuator.

The valve-attaching portion 22 temiinates in a valveengaging end 40 which includes a pair of beveled surfaces 41 and 42 which converge along an edge or narrow surface 43 which extends parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slot 33. The planes of the beveled surfaces also extend generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slot, i.e., the longitudinal axis would never intersect either plan no matter how far the axis was extended.

The actuator cap is positioned on the valve by inserting the valve stem into the major portion 31 of the central bore and pushing the actuator cap axially along the stem. The actuator is advantageously positioned on the stem so that the bottom of the valve-engaging end is spaced slightly from the top of the valve base a spacing of the order of about 1/32 to l/ 16 inch. This spacing ensures that the valve will be opened fully as the actuator cap and stem are moved laterally by the actuating bar. If desired, this spacing can be achieved relatively easily by providing the enlarged portion 31 of the bore with a length less than the length which the valve stem extends above the valve base in an amount corresponding to the desired spacing. The activator can then be pushed onto the stem until the stem engages the reduced bore portion 32.

The actuator-equipped aerosol can is adapted for use in the marking apparatus described in my prior application entitled Spraying Apparatus, Ser. No. 1 18,351, filed Feb. 24, 1971, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,700,144, to which reference may be had for details. A portion of the apparatus 50 is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the apparatus including a base plate 51 which is provided with a pair of openings 52 for receiving the dome-like tops 13 of a pair of actuator-equipped aerosol cans. The openings 52 have a diameter slightly less than the maximum diameter of the dome portions so that these portions of the can can be held rather securely in the openings.

The valves are operated by a generally T-shaped actuating bar 53 which is slidably mounted to the lower surface of the base plate 51. The actuating bar includes an elongated sliding or attaching portion 54 and a transversely extending valve-actuating portion 55 having a pair of generally flat actuating edges 56 and 57. The slide portion 54 is slidably secured to the base plate between the openings 52 therethrough by bolts 58 and 59 which extend through a longitudinally extending slot 60 in the slide portions. The enlarged head portions of the bolts hold the slide portion adjacent the base plate, and the shank portions of the bolt cooperate with the slot 60 to guide the sliding movement of the slide plate along a line equidistant from the centers of the openings 52. The actuating bar is also guided by a pair of pins 61 and 62 (FIG. which extend downwardly from the base plate and which cooperate with elongated slots 63 and 64 in the slide portions.

The forward portion of the actuating bar is offset away from the base plate 51 to position the actuating portion 64 adjacent the valves of the aerosol can. The actuating bar is biased to a non-actuating position shown in FIG. 4 in which the actuating bar does not engage the aerosol can valves by a spring 65 which is secured to the frame of the marking apparatus.

Sliding movement is imparted to the actuating bar by a bell crank 67 which extends downwardly through a slot 68 in the base plate and through the rearward portion of the slot 60 in the actuating bar.

Although the actuators 10 are frictionally engaged with the stem 17, the actuators can be rotated about the stems without difliculty. When the aerosol cans are inserted into the marking apparatus, it is usually difficult to align the slotted orifice of the actuators transversely to the direction in which the marking apparatus is to be advanced, indicated by the arrow A, particularly since these cans are inverted and are enclosed within the casing of the marking apparatus. However, when the valves of the cans are to be opened by sliding the actuating bar rearwardly and downwardly as viewed in FIG. 4, the fiat leading edges 56 and 57 of the actuating bar will engage the flat aligning side surfaces of the actuators. If the slotted orifices and therefore the side surfaces do not extend generally perpendicularly to the direction in which the apparatus is being advanced, the actuating bar will rotate the actuators about the stems 17 of the aerosol cans until the leading edges of the actuating bar becomes flush with the side surfaces of the actuators as shown in FIG. 5. Thereafter, rearward sliding movement of the actuating bar will move the stems of the can valves laterally to open the valves so that the contents of the cans are sprayed through the slotted orifices onto the surface to be marked.

At times the valve stem extends slightly askew from the axis of the can in a direction to the right or left of the direction in which the marking apparatus is advanced. For example, as viewed in FIG. 8, the stems of some cans may extend angularly to the right or left of the position illustrated. As cans are emptied and replaced with new cans, such misalignment can cause the spray pattern laid down by the new cans to be an inch or more to the right or left of the previous pattern.

The beveled surfaces of the actuator serve to correct such misalignment and bring the stem substantially into position in a plane extending through the axis of the can and perpendicular to the aligning surfaces 24 and 25 of the actuator. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, as the actuator and the stem are moved to the right or left by the actuating bar, one of the beveled surfaces 42 or 43 will come into engagement with the top surface 20 of the valve base 18. As the actuator is moved to fully open the valve, indicated in phantom at 10a and 10b, the beveled surface will become substantially fully engaged with the surface 20 and will extend substantially parallel thereto. If the stem is misaligned with the can axis and extends angularly inwardly or outwardly from the plane of FIG. 3, the beveled surface will initially make edge contact with the surface 20. As the actuator is further moved by the actuating bar, the stem will become properly aligned with the can axis as the beveled surface is forced into full engagement with the surface 20.

In one specific embodiment of the invention, the beveled surfaces 41 and 42 formed an included angle of about so that each surface extended at an angle of about 20 from the surface 20. The flat surface 43 had a width of about 0.002 inch, the major portion 31 of the bore had a diameter of 0.109 inch and a length of 0.375 inch, and the reduced portion 32 of the bore had a diameter of 0.047 inch. The slotted orifice 33 had a major dimension of 0.047 inch and a width of 0.016 inch.

While in the foregoing specification a detailed description of a specific embodiment of the invention has been set forth for the purpose of illustration, it is to be understood that many of the details herein given may be varied considerably by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. An actuating apparatus for an aerosol can comprising a frame, an aerosol can containing material to be sprayed mounted on the frame and having a valve for releasing the material to be sprayed, the valve including an elongated laterally movable stem extending from a valve base, the valve base including a generally flat surface extending generally perpendicularly to the stem, an actuating bar mounted on the frame for movement laterally with respect to the aerosol can, and an actuating cap rotatably mounted on the valve stem, the actuating cap being provided with a central bore receiving the valve stem and terminating in an elongated slot for spraying the material within the can, the actuating cap having a flat aligning surface extending parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the slot and a valveattaching portion terminating in a valve-engaging end having a planar beveled surface extending angularly with respect to the flat surface of the valve base and generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slot, the aligning surface of the actuating cap being engageable by the actuating bar when the actuating bar is moved laterally with respect to the can whereby the actuating cap and the valve stem may be moved laterally, the planar beveled surface of the actuating cap being engageable with the flat surface of the valve base as the actuating bar moves the actuating cap and the valve stem laterally engagement of the actuating bar with the aligning surface and engagement of the planar beveled surface with the flat surface of the valve base causing rotation of the actuating cap on the valve stem into a position in which the longitudinal dimension of the slot thereof is aligned with the actuating bar and the axis of the cen tral bore lies in a plane extending through the axis of the can and perpendicular to the aligning surface of the actuating cap.

2. The structure of claim 1 in which the beveled surface extends at an angle of about 20 from the flat surface of the valve base.

3. The structure of claim 1 in which the actuating cap is generally T-shaped and includes an elongated end portion having a pair of spaced-apart flat parallel side surfaces and a pair of ends, each of the fiat parallel side surfaces extending parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the slot and providing a flat aligning surface, the valve attaching portion being generally cylindrical and extending from the end portion intermediate the end thereof.

4. The structure of claim 1 in which the valveengaging end has a pair of such planar beveled surfaces, the planar beveled surfaces being located on opposite sides of the axis of the bore and converging downwardly.

5. The structure of claim 4 in which the beveled surfaces define an included angle of about 

1. An actuating apparatus for an aerosol can comprising a frame, an aerosol can containing material to be sprayed mounted on the frame and having a valve for releasing the material to be sprayed, the valve including an elongated laterally movable stem extendIng from a valve base, the valve base including a generally flat surface extending generally perpendicularly to the stem, an actuating bar mounted on the frame for movement laterally with respect to the aerosol can, and an actuating cap rotatably mounted on the valve stem, the actuating cap being provided with a central bore receiving the valve stem and terminating in an elongated slot for spraying the material within the can, the actuating cap having a flat aligning surface extending parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the slot and a valve-attaching portion terminating in a valve-engaging end having a planar beveled surface extending angularly with respect to the flat surface of the valve base and generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slot, the aligning surface of the actuating cap being engageable by the actuating bar when the actuating bar is moved laterally with respect to the can whereby the actuating cap and the valve stem may be moved laterally, the planar beveled surface of the actuating cap being engageable with the flat surface of the valve base as the actuating bar moves the actuating cap and the valve stem laterally engagement of the actuating bar with the aligning surface and engagement of the planar beveled surface with the flat surface of the valve base causing rotation of the actuating cap on the valve stem into a position in which the longitudinal dimension of the slot thereof is aligned with the actuating bar and the axis of the central bore lies in a plane extending through the axis of the can and perpendicular to the aligning surface of the actuating cap.
 2. The structure of claim 1 in which the beveled surface extends at an angle of about 20* from the flat surface of the valve base.
 3. The structure of claim 1 in which the actuating cap is generally T-shaped and includes an elongated end portion having a pair of spaced-apart flat parallel side surfaces and a pair of ends, each of the flat parallel side surfaces extending parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the slot and providing a flat aligning surface, the valve attaching portion being generally cylindrical and extending from the end portion intermediate the end thereof.
 4. The structure of claim 1 in which the valve-engaging end has a pair of such planar beveled surfaces, the planar beveled surfaces being located on opposite sides of the axis of the bore and converging downwardly.
 5. The structure of claim 4 in which the beveled surfaces define an included angle of about 140*. 